Tomorrow's Dirt

     During my undergrad studies, I was wandering through the shelves of my school's library looking for a new book to read. I was scanning the biographies when a ran across a little book. To be honest I cannot remember the title or who the book was about, but I'll never forget one story the author shared. The biography was of a woman missionary. During her stay with the missions organization for orientation she was given the task of cleaning the restrooms. To this lady cleaning restrooms seemed like an unimportant task, but she still did as she was asked. One day she had just finished cleaning one of the stalls and begun another when one of her directors came in and used the restroom. As the director turned to leave, she sighed and went back to redo her task. The director stopped her and told her "That's tomorrow's dirt." She went on to explain to this new missionary recruit that in life there is always another thing that we could be doing, but trying to do everything all the time would leave a missionary exhausted and empty.

     The phrase "that's tomorrow's dirt" has stuck with me ever since. The director was right. In life nothing is ever finished. There's always one more shelf to be dusted, one more load of laundry to be done, one more coffee mug sitting on the table. But sometimes we need to say "that's tomorrow's dirt." Sometimes we need to look at the socks littering the floor, and say "they'll keep, but right now I have something else I need to do with my time." Maybe it's a long day and the kids are finally in bed and you need to sit down, read a book, and refresh your mind and soul. The socks will be there, but the moment may be gone. Maybe you have dishes in the sink, but your husband just came home from class and has something exciting he wants to share with you. Take the time to talk together. Dishes can wait.

     We live in a fast-paced world of perfection. Instagram makes our friends' houses seem spotless. Facebook shows us how our kids would be so much healthier if we made all our food from scratch with fresh ingredients from the farmer's market. God says "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). Now there is nothing wrong with a clean house or healthy food, but if we pursue these things and miss that God wants us to rest in Him, we will come up dry and empty. Perfection brings weariness. God gives grace. One way we learn to accept God's grace is by giving up our plan to be perfect. When we say "that's tomorrow's dirt," we learn to live in today's grace. When we are willing to let things not be perfect, we open our eyes to the things that God has put in our life that have more eternal impact. So my sisters, when you are exhausted, take the time to rest. From a heart at rest we can best hear the still small voice of God.

By Sarah Price

Crowns Editor